Mori also praised the "short period of time" in which the agreement had been reached following the public outcry.

Yuriko Koike, Tokyo's first female governor, had stressed she felt "very uncomfortable" women could not become members "in this day and age," adding it should be "a venue open to everyone."

Meanwhile, Olympic silver medalist Lydia Ko said she hoped the notion of golf as a men's game could left behind in "the past generations," with the world No. 1 stressing how popular the women's game has become in Japan.